“…A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom…”— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our members of Congress must come to the understanding that for the US economy to experience a real and sustained economic recovery they as our elected officials must pass legislation which promotes the growth of living wage jobs and raises the minimum wage.

As aptly stated by Professor Lawrence H. Summers from Harvard University, “…the United States and other countries will not benefit from further measures directed at rapid deficit reduction. Output and jobs will suffer. A weaker economy means that our children may inherit an economy with more debt and less capacity to bear the burden it imposes. Already, premature deficit reduction has affected economic performance in Britain and several countries that use the euro.

The 2012 election results should have sent the message to all elected officials that the electorate is more concerned about jobs than cutting the national debt. The job growth trend reported by the BLS confirms that the economy is finally beginning to build some momentum, as we work to dig out of the devastatingly deep hole that President Obama inherited from George W. Bush and a generation of flawed policies. Now, we need the President and Congress to build on this momentum and keep their focus on job creation, including by passing the American Jobs Act.”

Prior to the 2012 Presidential election, some political analyst asserted that the race to the White House was all about jobs, jobs, jobs. The election results proved that they were in fact correct. The 2012 election at the federal level was all about jobs. As a result, the Democrats increased their number of seats in the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, and they maintained the White House for a second term.

Highly regarded economists and the electorate have spoken “Trickle Down” economics failed miserably under Reagan and Bush as best demonstrated by the economic collapse— the road to recovery for our nation is in fact all about increasing the number of living wage jobs, jobs, jobs so that millions of people can go back to work.

“….We know of no more crucial civil rights issue facing Congress today than the need to increase the federal minimum wage and extend its coverage…”—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Speaking to the AFL-CIO)